No compassion from BA after Brisbane floods

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rooboy68

rooboy68

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Oct 7, 2007
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Hi all,

I was booked to go to London from BNE (via SYD) on Friday 21st Jan on BA. BNE-SYD was codeshare QF.

With the Brisbane floods I now will not be able to make the trip and although my house is OK, my family is actively involved in helping others who were not so lucky.

QF have a notice on their website saying they will waiver all fare conditions and provide full refunds for travel up to 23rd Jan.

I spoke to a BA agent on the phone this morning (presumably not in Australia) and they would not back down from their standard $1,000 cancellation fee which they have now charged me to process the refund.

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can escalate this matter? I know it's not BA's fault the floods occured but you'ld think a little compassion would be in order.

Cheers
RooBoy
 
Have you tried your travel insurance provider to see if they will cover it?
 
It's quite disappointing that BA aren't more helpful. Especially considering that even budget airlines have offered customers a fee-waived rescheduling. Good luck with sorting out this situation - I hope they work out something better for you.
 
Even Tiger has offered relief:

If passengers arrive at the airport and advise airport staff that they are unable to travel OR if the passengers arrive after check-in has closed and miss their booked Tiger Airways flight from Queensland due to weather related issues, Tiger Airways check-in staff will:

1. Re-book passengers free of charge onto another Tiger Airways flight of their choice, within 7 days from the original flight date.

2. Provide a flight credit for future travel, to the full value of their fare to be used within 3 months at their discretion.​

(Admittedly it is awkward to still turn up at the airport when you're dealing with flood damage or involved in family help - but it's still better than what BA are offering it seems).
 
That really sucks... what kind of ticket are you on that there is a $1000 cancellation charge?
 
trippin_the_rift said:
That really sucks... what kind of ticket are you on that there is a $1000 cancellation charge?
Click to expand...

I've asked my TA for a copy of the fare conditions. It was a deal BA had out late last year that was PE on the outward journey and J class on the return.

Fare was $5,000 and included a side trip to Europe. It was good value... but not now. :(
 
Nigelinoz said:
http://www.speedbirdclub.com/res/au/Newsletters/bne floods.pdf
Click to expand...

Very clear though that is only for cancelled flights rather than disruptions due to extenuating circumstances and only relates to QF codeshares out of BNE.

I guess the floods are a very minor disruption in terms of number of people for BA and they are dealing with the cost of the snow disruptions in the UK. So I can appreciate that they might not be as accommodating as Australian based carriers.

It is sad though. Again - can travel insurance help?
 
Why don't you just make the trip.
The Airport is open, most roads will be open by Jan 21. Most electricity will be reconnected by then.
 
Lets all make a pledge to blackban BA.
they must lurk here too, just like Red Roo, AMEX, and the Jetstar Bloke.
 
This sort of treatment will certainly be factored into my future travel plans. No mention on whether Rooboy had insurance???
 
serfty said:
If I were you I'd edit out the "never" sentence.

It'll be like a red rag to a bull to many the FT BAficionados and they won't see past thier prejudices ... :rolleyes:
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*waves to the BA-board boys (and gals) who are reading this thread*

Indeed. I've always found the BA board interesting. Very easy to get shot down there quickly, and in particular they take great delight in shooting anyone who complains about BA (unless of course they recognise you as a regular!)
 
Just spoke to the TA at Best Flights and emailed her the speedbird link.

She seemed a little surprised that she was not aware of the new notification from BA and said she will call them tomorrow. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I go...

Thanks for everyone's support and help.
 
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It may be true that there are BA aficionados over on FT who have trouble seeing "past their prejudices"..

BUT.. the post that was put there was - IMO - a bit over the top (or more than a bit) AND interesting (and IMO pertinent) questions were asked by the BA crowd...

.. which were NOT answered.

DID anyone here vow to book MORE on BA after one or more of their previous excellent disaster relief efforts? Or are we so insular that only Australia matters?

I thought that line of questioning was an entirely reaasonable response to the OP... and sorry.. I think it is at least a "draw" this time... as far as prejudice goes....
 
trooper said:
It may be true that there are BA aficionados over on FT who have trouble seeing "past their prejudices"..

BUT.. the post that was put there was - IMO - a bit over the top (or more than a bit) AND interesting (and IMO pertinent) questions were asked by the BA crowd...

.. which were NOT answered.

DID anyone here vow to book MORE on BA after one or more of their previous excellent disaster relief efforts? Or are we so insular that only Australia matters?

I thought that line of questioning was an entirely reaasonable response to the OP... and sorry.. I think it is at least a "draw" this time... as far as prejudice goes....
Click to expand...

Trooper, you are not in Brisbane so I can understand you may not feel the same way I do, but I was utterly shocked that BA were not doing what all the other airlines that service Brisbane do, and that is waive normal fare conditions, there were the only airline at the time that had this stance.

I am not sure what questions were left unanswered, obviously the questions about the OP in this thread were not able to be answered by be as the OP at FT nor was I going to guess those answers. The questions about BA changing rules for other circumstances are similarly also not something that is within my scope to answer nor is it my business.

The points/questions about BA not having their own metal servicing Brisbane are also useless and irrelevant, United and Lufthansa, two carriers of similar stature to BA and who also dont service BNE with their own metal were also waiving change fees, as were that dreaded BA nuisance - VS :D.

I have no issues with the loyalty to BA shown through the questioning other than to say it was not constructive in nature or helpful to the OP of this thread, and as I said it was not unexpected, cynicism is a natural part of internet forums. More importantly it turned out that BA were coming to the party, they just appear to be poor communicators of this to both their customers and their agents.
 
markis10 said:
Trooper, you are not in Brisbane so I can understand you may not feel the same way I do, but I was utterly shocked that BA were not doing what all the other airlines that service Brisbane do,
Click to expand...

Ah, but that's the difference, and a pertinent one in my view - they don't service Brisbane.

I'm with Trooper on this one.
 
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